The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be the fourth-largest black market trade on the planet, worth about $19 billion per year. Many of these animals are sold as exotic pets, who can grow up to be too large or too wild to handle — and then end up abandoned.

So many animals like Tikam end up getting caught up in moneymaking schemes that care little about what's actually good for the animals being sold.

Tikam, for instance, never even got to see his home in the wild. He was bred by a breeder in the Czech Republic and swiftly taken away from his mom, sold to someone who then brought him across the border into Germany. He was just 2 months old.

But as soon as the landlady spoke up for him, Tikam was able to get the care he needed.

After being confiscated by the authorities, Tikam was brought to Tierart, a sanctuary in Germany run by Four Paws for cats just like him.

“Keeping a puma in a small apartment is not only absolute animal cruelty, but also dangerous for the owners and neighbors," Florian Eiserlo, site manager of Tierart, said in a release. "What looks small and cute now will later develop into a predator weighing up to 100 kilos [220 pounds]."

Because Tikam has only been around human beings his whole life, he won't be able to be released into the wild — but people are doing everything they can to try to right the wrongs done to the puma kitten.

“More and more wild animals are being found in questionable environments," Kieran Harkin, head of Wild Animal Campaigns at Four Paws, said. "Nobody really knows how many big cats are kept in living rooms or backyards. The current legal situation is beyond deficient and leads to the fact that countless numbers of animals are kept in absolutely inappropriate circumstances."